Unit 30: Present Progressive (-고 있어요)

Welcome to the final unit of Level 1! You have learned how to talk about the past (갔어요) and the future (갈 거예요). You also learned the present tense (가요).

But what if you want to emphasize that you are doing something right now in this exact moment? In English, we say "I am [verb]-ing". In Korean, we use the ending -고 있어요.

1. How to conjugate -고 있어요

This is the easiest grammar rule you will ever learn! There are no vowels or consonants to check.

You simply take the verb stem and attach 고 있어요 (go i-sseo-yo).

• 가다 (to go) -> 가 + 고 있어요 = 가고 있어요 (I am going right now).
• 먹다 (to eat) -> 먹 + 고 있어요 = 먹고 있어요 (I am eating right now).
• 자다 (to sleep) -> 자 + 고 있어요 = 자고 있어요 (I am sleeping right now).
• 하다 (to do) -> 하 + 고 있어요 = 하고 있어요 (I am doing it right now).

2. Present Tense (해요) vs Present Progressive (하고 있어요)

Often, they can mean the same thing, but -고 있어요 adds the feeling of "in the middle of doing it."

• 지금 뭐 해요? = What are you doing now? / What do you do?

• 지금 뭐 하고 있어요? = What are you doing right at this exact moment?

• 공부해요. = I study. / I am studying.

• 공부하고 있어요. = I am currently in the middle of studying.

3. Past Progressive (I was -ing)

Because 있어요 is just the verb "to exist", you can change it to the past tense (있었어요) to mean "I was -ing"!

• 먹고 있어요 = I am eating.
• 먹고 있었어요 = I was eating.

Conclusion of Level 1

Congratulations! You have finished Level 1 of Easy Korean. You can now introduce yourself, agree and disagree, order food, count, express your desires, and use the past, present, future, and progressive tenses!

You are well on your way to fluency. Keep practicing, and we will see you in Level 2!